Touching the Void

Joe Simpson, with just his partner, Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June of 1995. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell their non-climbing companion that Joe was dead. For three days he wrestled with guilt as they prepared to return home. Then a cry in the night took them out with torches, where they found Joe, badly injured.

Mud, Sweat and Tears

Bear Grylls is a man who has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on the Isle of Wight, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. As a teenager he found identity and purpose through both mountaineering and martial arts, which led the young adventurer to the foothills of the mighty Himalaya and a grandmaster's karate training camp in Japan.

Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season

In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall's death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter.

Wild

A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an 1100-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe and built her back up again. At 22, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. After her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State - alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than an idea: vague, outlandish, and full of promise.

Angels and Demons

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth is an inspirational memoir of space exploration and hard-won wisdom, from an astronaut who has spent a lifetime making the impossible a reality. Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft, and become a YouTube sensation with his performance of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' in space.

Into the Wild

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself.

The Climb

The Climb is a true, gripping, and thought-provoking account of the worst disaster in the history of Mt. Everest: On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by experienced leaders attempted to climb the highest mountain in the world, but things went terribly wrong...

Winners: And How They Succeed

The Sunday Times number-one best seller. How people succeed and how you can, too. Alastair Campbell knows all about winning. As Tony Blair's chief spokesman and strategist, he helped guide the Labour Party to victory in three successive general elections, and he's fascinated by what it takes to win. How do sports stars excel, entrepreneurs thrive, or individuals achieve their ambitions? Is their ability to win innate? Or is the winning mind-set something we can all develop?

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.

The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History

Theodore Bundy was one of the more infamous, and flamboyant, American serial killers on record, and his story is a complex mix of psychopathology, criminal investigation, and the U.S. legal system. This in-depth examination of Bundy's life and his killing spree that totaled dozens of victims is drawn from legal transcripts, correspondence and interviews with detectives and prosecutors. Using these sources, new information on several murders is unveiled.

The Mountain Man Omnibus: Books 1-3

Boomstick. Samurai bat. Motorcycle leather. And the will to live among the unliving. Augustus Berry lives a day-to-day existence comprised of waking up, getting drunk, and preparing for the inevitable day when "they" will come up the side of his mountain and penetrate his fortress. Living on the outskirts of a city and scavenging for whatever supplies remain after civilization died two years ago, Gus knows that every time he goes down into undead suburbia could be his last.

Publisher's Summary

Aron Ralston, an experienced 27-year-old outdoorsman, was on a days solitary hike through a remote and narrow Utah canyon when he dislodged an 800-pound boulder that crushed his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. Emerging from the searing pain, Aron found himself completely stuck. No one knew where he was; no one was coming to rescue him. With scant water and food, and a cheap pocketknife his only tool, he eliminated his options one by one. On the fifth night, wracked by delirium and uncontrollable shivers, Aron scratched his epitaph into the rock wall, certain he would not see daylight.

Yet with the new morning came an epiphany: if he could use the rocks vise-like hold to break his arm bones, his blunted pocketknife could serve as a surgeons blade....

If you could sum up 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Movie Tie- In) in three words, what would they be?

I saw the film and heard some snippets of Ralston's interviews online. This made me wonder why he said he wouldn't avoid this accident if he were to do it over again. This book helped to explain what the experience has done to enrich the author's life. Although the book would do a service to readers by adding some advice on avoiding similar incidents, it's a great story from a standpoint of overcoming adversity, facing fears, "growing" spiritually/intellectually, etc. The book does not, however, provide much advice in terms of "lessons learned." I enjoyed that it was ready by Aron Ralston himself. I always like audio books that are read by their own authors; you can be pretty sure that all the voice inflections are correct interpretations of the author's tone.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

D.

BURLEY, ID, United States

10/05/12

Overall

Performance

Story

"Couldn't watch the movie?"

It was neat to listen to the voice of Aaron retell his own story. That said, he isn't an actor, but the way it was told is true to character. I'd already read quite a bit about the story, I'd watched NBC's report with Tom Brokaw. This book made me feel like I was there in the slot with him. Small warning, about the use of the F*** word just after he gets trapped by the rock. Other than that I'd recomend it to any young reader.If you listen to the story with the intent to criticize the author for mistakes made, or to second guess him "Well I would have done....." then you will not get the most out of this book. Rather this book can teach how amazing the will to live, and explore really is. It is an inspiring book.I started competitive Rock Climbing in 1996, and since then have drifted between the worlds of bouldering, trad climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, and even have a few big walls, under my belt. This book is fuel to get me home.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Obadiah Goodrich

09/07/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing testimony of perseverance"

Aron is an amazing writer and captures his experience in such detail you feel as though you have come out a different person by the end. He takes you through his agonizing 6 days with such visualization that you emerge determined and amazed with a value on life that is more powerful than ever.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Jory

12/06/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"A real Nail-Biter (too soon?)"

Amazing story, but the performance is a little dry. Would recommend to anyone. This was my 2nd listen.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

J. Hanks

23/04/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"A Call to Action!"

I enjoyed listening to this book, primarily due to Aron's narration--I don't think anyone else could tell his story adequately. I've read a lot of reviews that lambast Aron for his arrogance and poor planning, but is that really any different than the invincibility that many of us feel when we're young? I thought he was very honest and held himself accountable for the mistakes he made, so give him a break! At any rate, that's not what this story was about. To me, this story was about the power of action, and how liberating it can be to simply be moving forward in the face of conflict. I can only imagine what Aron endured during those 127-hours, and the gumption it took to do what he did is simply astounding. His thoughtful and passionate reading of this story helped me 'feel' what he was going throuh...moments of exhilaration, despair, fear, sorrow, comedy, courage, hope, and love.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Leslie

GLENDALE, AZ, United States

21/02/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"A riveting and inspirational story!!!"

If you could sum up 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Movie Tie- In) in three words, what would they be?

The human body can endure more than we know as long as your mind is committed to the same goal. I loved that Aron narrated this book, he was reliving many of these moments and I felt at times the feeling of what its liked to be trapped, to be elated with an idea of how to get free only to despair when it didn't work, but then to come up with another solution. This is a true principal in life too. Never ever give up, when one thing fails, try another. He told the story well, in a compelling narrative. Thanks to this I ran extra miles as I listen while running and didn't want to stop, and I ran faster when I felt his stress!! I loved this. As a m9ther, I imagined what his mother felt like, when she learned he was missing and she had to jump in to action. I would love another book by Aron Ralston to tell what he's done since this incident, as I've heard so much about all that he's accomplished since the accident.

What did you like best about this story?

That Aron told the story himself. A narrator could never do his story justice as he brought true, raw emotion to the story.

Have you listened to any of Aron Ralston’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes definitely!

Any additional comments?

If you love inspirational stories, this is a must have!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Lauren's Lpatop

03/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Between a Rock and a hard place"

The audio didn't even match the book 3/4 of the time, it a big disappointment, it's a good book, but the audio could at least match the book!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Yon

02/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Very well told"

Any additional comments?

Aron told this story in a way that it was very easy to follow and it was very entertaining and interesting. A book like this could have easily turned into a huge bore but I finished this one in like a day and a half. Great job!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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